Mobile computing devices are becoming increasing popular for both business users and casual users. Many of these mobile computing devices can rival desktop computers in capabilities and computing power. However, because of the emphasis on mobility, mobile computing devices generally do not include a full size keyboard for inputting text. Although some existing mobile computing devices include a miniature keyboard for entering text, this kind of miniature keyboard only has a limited number of keys that are barely adequate for entering the letters of the alphabet. To enter special characters such as symbols, accented characters, punctuation marks, and the like, existing mobile computing devices typically require a user to perform non-intuitive and cumbersome steps. An efficient and intuitive system and method that enable a user to input special characters in a mobile computing device continue to elude those skilled in the art.